In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, we speak with Michelle Bush, from Silverstein & Pomerantz, and our very own Judy Vorndran.

Michelle talks about her career handling tax matters on behalf of the city and then her later switch on behalf of the taxpayers . Listen to her multiple perspectives of challenging tax law in the court system.

Questions asked and answered in this Episode:

• Why did she switch sides from representing the city to representing taxpayers?
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• What are Michelle thoughts on overreaching enforcement?
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• Was there a lack of trust from the cities for the state to collect their dues?
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• Why doesn’t Denver have clearer boundary lines?
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• What are Michelle’s opinions on the Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS) system?
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• What case had the biggest impact on Michelle on the way she thinks about tax and the application of the law?
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• How do you put together a compelling story for litigation?
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• What does Michelle foresee in future litigations?
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What You Will Discover:

• [01:29] The progression of Michelle’s career
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• [05:03] Why she shifted from representing the city to taxpayers
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• [06:34] How she adjusted to Colorado's complicated state tax system
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• [08:59] The balancing act on enforcing the tax law
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• [14:40] If Michelle felt any distrust between the City of Denver and the state of Colorado
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• [19:35] Issues with Colorado’s boundary lines
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• [21:15] Michelle’s opinions of the SUTS system
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• [27:38] What Michelle tries to remember in every piece of litigation
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• [31:40] How to put together a compelling story
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• [35:56] How the COVID-19 pandemic could play in future litigations
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• [37:37] Other litigations Michelle foresees in the future
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Quotables:

• “Wherever I worked, it was the right thing at the time.” - Michelle Bush [05:30]
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• “Just because no one is challenging it doesn’t mean it’s the right application. Doesn’t mean it’s the wrong application.” - Michelle Bush [10:21]
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• “Putting myself in the shoes of our clients, any time you can remove a barrier to compliance, I think that’s a good thing.” - Michelle Bush [22:10]
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• “But use tax is almost like when you say use tax, people think that… they look at you and say `I know the words you are using are in the English language, but I don’t know what that means.’” - Michelle Bush [26:28] 
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• “There’s always a story to be told.” - Michelle Bush [28:57]
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Relevant Links:

Website: https://www.sptaxlaw.com/our-people/michelle-bush/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bush-ba10b01a/

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Production Support

This episode was produced with support from Truth Work Media. www.truthworkmedia.com

Mentioned in this episode:

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